Al shook his head. Continuing to subvocalize, he said: "However we go about this, ain't no one gittin' locked up alone nowhere. Splittin' up always leads us deeper into the shit. Ever' single damned time. Me, I think our best bet against She-HAL is inna meat world, go at her server like we done discussed. All of us can work together on that, with you Robyn providin' matrix support as an' when feasible. Matrix guerrlla for us, if ya will. Much better plan than havin' jist one of us go mano-a-mano with the AI alone on its own turf. Hell, if that was a realistic option, we could jist hole up in here, let ya do yer thing, an' go home five minutes from now."

<<Agreed. No splitting the group down here. And be careful what you plug into your head. Run the tag eraser over every plug first. And actually: Killing the cooling system is out best bet to shut down the servers without resorting to explosives - which as we know might cause a catastrophic failure in the sphere's structure.

So first thing is finding and plotting a course to the cooling systems.>>Isaint added.

Silk had been expecting it for the last few minutes of their trek through the labyrinthine back of house areas of the aquaology but when the voice of she HAL spoke to them again in the med bay it was nevertheless unnerving

>>You are meddling, crawling around like mice in a maze. I will ask you one more time what you are doing here. If I do not like the answer I will be forced to contain you where you are until my task here is done.

Silk shivered slightly and she realised that the internal temperature had indeed begun to drop…it would seem that perhaps the AI had already decided to take measures

>>Robyn, I, or my agent, can assist you in the matrix if that would help. If nothing else I could run interference for you

Robyn snickers as she sub-vocalizes. >>I will be the last person to turn down any help. I take it we are not going to answer Hal-ette? Hmmm, you asked about the highest ranking devices down here and in my experience, medical equipment ranks just lower than site defense and life support. So far the defenses seem to be drones, which does not let me do much, but we do have some really good medical systems right here.<<

Isaint debated answering the creepy KI and decided to risk a little bit of diplomacy. Using one of his lesser commlinks with the agent keeping watch for intrusion attempts he replied before shutting wireless off again:<<We have kept away from the areas you called off-limits. We are here to retrieve Information from a local resident. I repeat: We have not come here with the intention to meddle in your plans - whoever you are.>>'Of course, just because we didn't come here with the intention doesn't mean we didn't change our opinion with your shitty behavior...'

To the others he sent on the microtransceiver: <<We have to keep moving. It's getting pretty chilly around here. Rick please have one of your spirits carry Robyn while she is in VR.>>

She HAL didn’t sound wildly impressed with Isaint’s response but nonetheless her reply was measured and calm.

>>Very well. If you tell me the name of the resident that you wish to speak to I will have them brought to you. For now you are restricted to your current location but you have my word that I will not attempt any harm to you if you remain where you are. As a gesture of good will I have corrected the environmental conditions in the module you are in.

Isaint turned to their employer: <<Well Silk, it's your decision, but we probably won't get a better offer at this junction. We can still go to war after you got your info - unless you think it's to much of a risk to trust whoever this is arranging a meeting.>>

Robyn remains quiet as the others discuss the options. She moves to where she can access one of the high-end medical monitors and carefully opens part of the device so that she can directly access the host from here if and when that is a go. Once done, she slides along the floor to where Al is sitting down. Her heightened senses are picking up decided changes in his breathing but he would probably not appreciate being reminded of how she can read people and she leaves him to his planning, hoping that he will include her in it at some point. Even with wireless off, her sensors can detect movement and she will smile at him if he looks up at her.

Silk considered, this was rightly her risk to take and shouldn’t be Isaint’s responsibility…but she was glad he had acknowledged that. In this instance honesty felt right and she hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite them.

Speaking out loud and knowing that the AI could hear them Silk said

“We are looking for someone calling himself Monarch… I can give you an ARO to…”

The response is visceral and the team can almost feel the aquaology quake with the force of the anger in She HAL’s voice that bombarded them from physical speakers as well as via their matrix interfaces

>>NO! He was promised to me! You cannot have him…

and then the voice goes as cold as the sudden rush of frigid air that accompanies it

>>I give you two choices. Return to the surface or remain where you are until I am done here. I will brook no more interference from you. Monarch will not wriggle away again.

Al was by now accustomed to the dizzying elation he felt in heart, mind, and loins wherever Alyce drew near, so it no longer interfered with his thinking.

And thinking was what he was doing now. He didn't have any crazy memory powers, but he'd studiied the schematics so many times now they were scratched bloodily across his brain. But what he really needed right now...he smiled at the irony...they'd gotten these plans from the place's personnel director. Should definitely have asked for more....

He spoke almost inaudibly, hands over his lips as if wiping sweat from his unshaven face. "Listen toots, can you access the residential registry from here, or maybe entry/exit logs? Be real nice ta know how many folks precisely's meant ta be down here, how many are kids, an' where they'd most likely be kept.

He was formulating priorties in his mind, and wished it was easier to talk to the others.

First, get their guy. Box ticked, and loads of intel.

Second, kill She-HAL.

But if that wasn't possible, then third would be to give up on saving everyone and just save as many uninfected children as they could find and then flood the whole place. Better to save the kids than lose everyone, and it's what their lost-soul parents would want too.

If, that was, they couldn't kill She-HAL. Just because some computer had started mimicking self-awareness didn't make it all-powerful or invulnerable. Whether it was cold or water or whatever, there was an off-switch somewhere....

And then, whoa Nelly! Silky made their play and the resident Fake Intelligence didn't take it too well.

<<Heh heh - sounds like she's got as much of a mad-on fer this feller as you do, Silky baby. Could be some common ground ta find there....maybe they's a way this don't have ta git ugly right away....>>